By: Haley Fengya
Pitts is one of the many hardworking teachers at LaPorte High School. He leads the AP Seminar class for sophomores and Honors English for freshmen. He has been a part of the Slicer family for three years.
“Being a Slicer means you are never alone. I consider myself lucky to be able to teach in such a supportive environment,” Pitts said.
Pitts is new to the area, as he has lived in Arizona his whole life. It was there his path to becoming an educator started.
As a kid, Pitts struggled in school. He could not read until he entered middle school, and this caused him to dislike school.
“I could not read until I was around 10 so I faked my way through most of elementary school by guessing what the stories were about based on their pictures and the words I could read. I was right about 60% of the time,” Pitts said.
Once Pitts entered high school, he joined the Theater Club. He followed this throughout his high school years because he was passionate about it; the theater became the first place within a school that he felt included and appreciated. Pitts followed his passion and was accepted into American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA).
After attending AMDA, Pitts performed in a few professional shows in Arizona. Later on, he realized that he wanted to live a more stable lifestyle and began looking for jobs. He started teaching young adults acting, and that was what influenced Pitts to go back to school and earn a degree in education.
“I took a job teaching acting to young people, and it was then that I knew I wanted to teach. I enrolled at my local community college and started at the very bottom while working full time,” Pitts said.
After Pitts received his degree in education, he landed his first teaching job as a high school teacher in Arizona. After teaching there for 9 years, Pitts and his family made the big decision to move back to his wife’s hometown La Porte, Indiana in 2021. Pitts then started teaching at LPHS, unaware of the impact that he was soon to make on his new students.
Pitts isn’t a typical English teacher. He helps students learn to love aspects of writing that most students wouldn’t. He isn’t a by-the-book type of teacher, he makes classes entertaining and engaging.
“Typical English classes are sometimes hard to follow. Mr. Pitts is anything but a normal teacher, when he teaches he has the excitement you see in a child playing with their favorite toy. His lessons are so much fun to listen to because of the way he carries them out. Overall Mr. Pitts would be one of the teachers I would have time and time again without hesitation,” Pitts’ former student Nataleigh Creech-Smith said.
Overall, Pitts has taught AP Seminar, Pitts taught Senior Technical Communications, ninth grade English, and Honors English for freshmen. His favorite grade to teach is ninth grade.
“Freshmen enter my class scared and timid, and by the time they leave, each one evolves into an open-minded, compassionate human person with limitless potential. It’s such a privilege to play a small role in that journey,” Pitts said.
Even as a teacher, Pitts still spends his days off living his best life. In his free time, he loves to go out.
“I love to go to concerts (Taylor Swift Eras Tour Chicago, Night 1). I love to travel. I golf poorly. I write. I read compulsively. I love to cook. And I love to play jazz guitar. I have watched an unhealthy amount of movies,” Pitts said.
Whether in the classroom or out in the real world, Pitts has an undeniable spark and influence. LPHS is a lucky beneficiary of it.